''Going Out in Style'' is the seventh studio album by the Dropkick Murphys and was released on March 1, 2011. It was the band's second studio release on their

Born & Bred Records Dropkick Murphys are an American Celtic punk band formed in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1996. Singer and bassist Ken Casey has been the band's only constant member. Other current members include drummer Matt Kelly (1997– ), singer Al Barr (199 ...

label. The album is the band's highest charting to date making its debut at number 6 on the

Billboard Hot 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artist ...

album charts. It was also the first to feature new member

Jeff DaRosa Jeffrey DaRosa (born July 31, 1982) is an American musician who is a multi-instrumentalist and a member of the Boston-based Dropkick Murphys. Early life and career Growing up in Watertown, Massachusetts (a suburb of Boston) and Somerville, Mas ...

. Two singles have been released from the album including "Going Out in Style" and "Memorial Day". The first single was also made into music videos. The album was re-released on March 13, 2012 as the Fenway Park Bonus Edition. It includes the full studio album and an 18 song live CD recorded at

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Bas ...

Boston, MA Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most ...

while the limited edition vinyl version, '' Live at Fenway'' includes two bonus live songs not available on the CD.

Musical style

''Going Out in Style'' is a concept album, blending the band's own personal experiences and family folklore into the story of a fictional character named Cornelius Larkin. ''Going Out in Style'' traces the journey of Larkin, whether it's the Irish immigrant's first person account of his own wake or the band's in depth interpretation of his life and lineage throughout the album's lyrics. According to bassist/vocalist,

Ken Casey Kenneth William Casey Jr. (born April 15, 1969) is an American musician who is a bass guitarist, primary songwriter, and one of the lead singers of the Boston Celtic punk group the Dropkick Murphys. Casey was one of the original members, sta ...

, "Cornelius has passed on to the other side, and the album becomes a retrospective of his life." The liner notes for the album will feature an obituary for Larkin written by author

Michael Patrick MacDonald Michael Patrick MacDonald (born March 9, 1966) is an Irish-American activist against crime and violence and author of his memoir, ''All Souls: A Family Story From Southie''. He helped to start Boston's gun-buyback program, and founded the South B ...

. The band says that the story of Larkin evolved into a saga which will eventually be told through their website and could eventually become a book someday. ''Going Out In Style'' signals the beginning of another chapter in Dropkick Murphys' own story. Vocalist Al Barr said, "I hope fans can listen to Going Out In Style with the same excitement we have. It’s all about family and friends for us. No bullshit here… we don’t like to convolute things." The album delves deeper into

Irish folk Irish traditional music (also known as Irish trad, Irish folk music, and other variants) is a genre of folk music that developed in Ireland. In ''A History of Irish Music'' (1905), W. H. Grattan Flood wrote that, in Gaelic Ireland, there we ...

than their previous albums. "Broken Hymns", "Cruel" and "1953" all feature very Irish sounds and themes, dealing with

immigration to the United States Immigration has been a major source of population growth and cultural change throughout much of the history of the United States. In absolute numbers, the United States has a larger immigrant population than any other country in the worl ...

. A few of the songs break from the concept of the album. "The Hardest Mile" pays tribute to a group of 57 Irish immigrants, who were hired by railroad contractor Philip Duffy to lay a section of tracks for the

Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad (P&CR) (1834) was one of the earliest commercial railroads in the United States, running from Philadelphia to Columbia, Pennsylvania, it was built by the Pennsylvania Canal Commission in lieu of a canal from Colu ...

in a valley now known as Duffy’s Cut (located about 30 miles west of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

) and disappeared under mysterious circumstances in August 1832. While they are widely believed to have died during the

second cholera pandemic The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds each ...

, forensic evidence suggests that some of them may have been murdered. "Sunday Hardcore Matinee" is a nostalgic song about the band's trips to

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier p ...

shows during their adolescence. "Take Em' Down" is a pro-

union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

song dedicated to

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

workers protesting the anti-labor legislation passed by Governor Scott Walker. The album also includes two traditional Irish covers: "

Peg o' My Heart "Peg o' My Heart" is a popular song written by Alfred Bryan (words) and Fred Fisher (music). It was published on March 15, 1913 and it featured in the 1913 musical ''Ziegfeld Follies''. The song was first performed publicly by Irving Kaufman i ...

" and "

The Irish Rover "The Irish Rover" is an Irish folk song about a magnificent though improbable sailing ship that reaches an unfortunate end. It has been recorded by numerous artists, some of whom have made changes to the lyrics over time. The song describes ...

." The album also features guest appearances by Bruce Springsteen, NOFX vocalist Fat Mike,

Chris Cheney Christopher John Cheney (born 2 January 1975) is an Australian rock musician, record producer, and studio owner. He is the founding mainstay guitarist, songwriter, and lead vocalist of the rockabilly band The Living End, which was formed in 1 ...

from

The Living End The Living End are an Australian punk rockabilly band from Melbourne, formed in 1994. Since 2002, the line-up consists of Chris Cheney (vocals, guitar), Scott Owen (double bass, vocals), and Andy Strachan (drums). The band rose to fame in 199 ...

and actor/comedian

Lenny Clarke Lenny or Lennie may refer to: People and fictional characters * Lenny (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Lennie (surname), a list of people * Lenny (singer) (born 1993), Czech songwriter Arts and entertainment Music * ''L ...

. Guitarist James Lynch's father, Pat Lynch makes an appearance on "The Irish Rover". On January 18, 2011, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' began streaming the song "Memorial Day" on their website. On February 2, 2011,

Alternative Press Alternative press may refer to: Individual publications * ''Alternative Press'' (magazine), an American music magazine Alternative journalism * Alternative media ** Alternative media (U.S. political left) ** Alternative media (U.S. political ri ...

released an exclusive stream of the song, "Hang 'Em High".

Promotion and release

In the thirteen days leading up to the album's release, the Dropkick Murphys announced that they would preview a song each day through their

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...

page along with a video discussing the song. On February 22, 2011, the band released their song, "Take 'Em Down" through their website and dedicated it to the thousands of

union workers who have been protesting the current budget plan of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. The band also plan to release limited edition T-shirts to raise money for the Worker's Right Emergency Fund. The music video for the first single, "Going Out in Style" was released on March 1, 2011 (the same day the album was released) and features cameos by Fat Mike,

Bobby Orr Robert Gordon Orr (born March 20, 1948) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, widely acknowledged as one of the greatest of all time. Orr used his ice skating speed, scoring, and play-making abilities to revolutionize the pos ...

Micky Ward George Michael Ward Jr. (born October 4, 1965), often known by his nickname, "Irish" Micky Ward, is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 2003. He challenged once for the IBF light welterweight title in 1997, and held ...

Kevin Youkilis Kevin Edmund Youkilis (; born March 15, 1979), nicknamed "Youk" , is an American former professional baseball first baseman and third baseman, who primarily played for the Boston Red Sox. A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, he was drafted by the Red S ...

Jonathan Papelbon Jonathan Robert Papelbon (; born November 23, 1980) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), most notably for the Boston Red Sox, with whom he was an All-Star in four cons ...

Shawn Thornton Shawn Thornton (born July 23, 1977) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player of the National Hockey League (NHL). An enforcer throughout his career, he won two Stanley Cups with the Anaheim Ducks (2007) and the Boston Bruins (2011). ...

Milan Lucic Milan Lucic (; born June 7, 1988) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player for the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL). He played major junior hockey with the Vancouver Giants in the Western Hockey League (WHL) for three seas ...

, Heidi Watney among many others. A bonus track, "Walk Don't Run", is included on some versions of the album, including the Japanese CD and the iTunes version. ''Going Out In Style'' debuted on the ''Billboard'' 200 Chart at #6, making it the highest-charting album in the band's history, selling 43,259 copies in its first week. On March 17, 2011, the music video for the second single, "Memorial Day" was released. On March 17,

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...

featured a segment on band's music video for "Going Out In Style" and how the video featured cameos by some of Boston's sports stars from the past and present. An expanded version of the album, ''Going Out in Style: Fenway Park Bonus Edition'', is set for release on March 13, 2012. The band released "Sunday Hardcore Matinee" as the album's third single on March 20, 2012. The single was released as limited edition to 1,000 copies picture-disc 7″ available exclusively through the Dropkick Murphys webstore and the Bridge Nine Store. The 7" features two tracks recorded live from band's

shows from September 2011. Side A will contain “Sunday Hardcore Matinee” while Side B will boast the live track “Broken Hymns”. 100 copies have been held aside for the band to sell directly to fans attending the March 14/15/16 homecoming shows at Boston’s

House of Blues House of Blues is an American chain of live music concert halls and restaurants. It was founded by Isaac Tigrett, the co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe, and Dan Aykroyd, co-star of the 1980 film ''The Blues Brothers''. The first location opened at Ha ...

Reception

The album has been mainly well received by critics. In their review,

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

stated that: "If you like Dropkick Murphys, you're going to like Going Out in Style." Regarding the album's concept they added: "The fictional character Cornelius Larkin is just the kind of man you would expect to find on a Dropkick Murphys release: a rough-around-the-edges working-class Irish immigrant who predictably can hold his liquor and knows his way around a good old fashioned brawl."

summed up the album by saying "The Boston Irish-punk septet never met a shout-along chorus they didn't want to crash into, with a bagpipe tooting along for an extra shot of old-world poignancy."

About.com Dotdash Meredith (formerly About.com) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, home, food, finance, tech, beauty, ...

raved that "It's a broad evolutionary album for the band - their most ambitious yet - and as result it's an exciting time for music."

Track list

iTunes version

iTunes version contains the bonus track "Walk Don't Run" between the last two songs

Fenway Park (bonus edition)

# "Hang 'Em High" # "Sunday Hardcore Matinee" # "Deeds Not Words" # "Going Out in Style" # "The Irish Rover" # "Peg o' My Heart" # "

Tessie "Tessie" is both the longtime anthem of the Boston Red Sox and a 2004 song by the punk rock group Dropkick Murphys. The original "Tessie" was from the 1902 Broadway musical ''The Silver Slipper''. The newer song, written in 2004, recounts how th ...

" # "Cruel" # "Climbing a Chair to Bed" # "Take 'Em Down" # "Devil's Brigade" # "Boys On The Docks" # "The Dirty Glass" # " The State of Massachusetts" # "Kiss Me, I'm Shitfaced" # "Time To Go" # "

I'm Shipping Up To Boston "I'm Shipping Up to Boston" is a song by the Celtic punk band Dropkick Murphys, with lyrics written by the folk singer Woody Guthrie. The original version of the song was released in 2004 on '' Give 'Em the Boot IV'' and was re-recorded for their ...

" # "T.N.T." *The bonus edition, includes the full studio album plus a 20-song live CD live at Fenway Park in Boston, MA. The limited edition vinyl version, '' Live at Fenway'', includes two bonus tracks ("Memorial Day" and "Echoes on "A" Street") not available on the CD.

Personnel

;Dropkick Murphys *

Al Barr Alexander Barr (born January 21, 1968) is an American musician. He has been the lead singer of the Dropkick Murphys since 1998. He was also a founder and lead singer for The Bruisers, which he helped form in 1988 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Hi ...

– lead vocals *Tim Brennan –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

s, accordion, whistles, vocals *

– lead vocals,

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

– banjo, bouzouki, mandolin, harmonica, vocals *Matt Kelly – drums, vocals * James Lynch –

s, vocals *Scruffy Wallace – bagpipes ;Parkington sisters *Ariel Parkington – strings and backing vocals *Lydia Parkington – strings and backing vocals *Nora Parkington – strings and backing vocals *Rose Parkington – strings and backing vocals *Sarah Parkington – strings and backing vocals ;Guest musicians * Bruce Springsteen – guest vocals on "Peg O' My Heart" *Pat Lynch – guest vocals on "The Irish Rover" * Fat Mike – guest vocals on "Going Out in Style" *

– guest vocals on "Going Out in Style" *

– guest vocals on "Going Out in Style" *Emma Casey – violin and backing vocals *Joe Gittleman – additional backing vocals *Jen Clarke – additional backing vocals *Liam Casey – additional backing vocals *Evan Tolonan – additional backing vocals *Kevin Rheault – additional backing vocals

References

{{Authority control 2011 albums Dropkick Murphys albums Albums produced by Ted Hutt Concept albums